White Spiral on Me 109G Spinners

[Oberst]

My understanding of the White Spiral on the Black Spinner is Optical deception for Allied air gunners. The logic was that the spinner spiral put off bomber gunners aim. It made them concentrate (the eyes catch the spiral movement) on the spinner as a aiming point so overshooting the fast moving target (deflection angle) when attacking at an angle to the bomber.

The time frame of the introduction of this design in the Luft. Staffels matchs the USAAF daylight bombing efforts of 1943 onwards.

Same could be said for other designs as well, for instance the factory 1/3 White on 2/3 RLM 70 spinner.

Thoughts?

[G.R.Morrison]

I recall hearing the old bromide about the spiral being off-putting for the gunners, but I read a pilot's comments (I CANNOT recall who it was) from much-earlier in the war, when the "Kullerschnauze" 1/3 + 2/3 segments came into common use, stating that the flickering effect was a recognition feature that worked for an aircraft in the mirror, behind you. One quick glance, and you knew it wasn't an R.A.F. fighter.

I think the spiral tends to disappear at high speeds, and the gunner is aiming at a dark, rather-small frontal aspect of the oncoming machine in any case.

The earliest spiral I recall was on Tiedmann's 2./JG 3 Bf 109E-4 WNr.1990, and the line is so fine/tight, it seems unlikely to be serving any purpose besides decorative. Rudi Müller's Bf 109F-4 WNr.10073 of 6./JG 5 was wearing a broad spiral well before they became common.

Sorry I cannot quote my source, GRM

[Nick Beale]

I think at least part of the reason was as a warning measure on the ground. The Luftwaffe didn't paint prop blade tips a bright colour (as the RAF did) but painting the spinner would have provided a clue that the prop was moving or stationary. If you could see the spiral, it was safe to approach = fewer accidents to ground crew. The earlier dark spinner with a white segment could have served a similar purpose.

I can't believe in the idea that you could dazzle gunners with it because the prop was turning too fast for any effect to be visible. You'd only see a composite blur, wouldn't you? Also, why paint spirals on aircraft that were to operate by night, as did happen?

[Csaba B. Stenge]

Nick has the point. RHAF used the same system (spiral or 1/3-2/3 on spinner) generally because safety reasons on the ground to see, propeller blades were moving or stationary.
Still, I identified one of such fatal accidents in WWII in Hungary, when an unfortunate, careless bloke walked into the moving propeller circle in an airfield (you don't want to know the result - incidentally in that case it was an older type, and it had no paintings on the spinner).

[Nick Beale]

And they paint spirals on the central bullet fairing of airliner turbofans these days.

[Revi16]

And this is what it looks like in use,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBsRBSPAz4U

[one-o-nine]

Originally Posted by Oberst

...Optical deception for Allied air gunners

... it is nothing more than an old fairy tale and legend

As already mentioned there were safety reasons!

Allied air gunners saw the 109 as a fast pinhead far away and had
really other problems as to look at the spiral!

[John Beaman]

Interesting, but regardless of the effects, or perceived effects, the order to paint these was officially done in the summer of 1944.

[Oberst]

Originally Posted by John Beaman

Interesting, but regardless of the effects, or perceived effects, the order to paint these was officially done in the summer of 1944.

I read about that order in a book, but it didn't get into specifics. Is that document available somewhere? Just curious as to what is says.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Oberst

I read about that order in a book, but it didn't get into specifics. Is that document available somewhere? Just curious as to what is says.

http://www.ghostbombers.com/markings/inv1.html

Scroll down to "25 June 1944"